The Skaneateles Lightning Swim Team, Central New York’s
premier competitive swimming program, earned high marks in
back-to-back regional championship meets in March. The
Lightning’s standout championship season showing followed a
regular season in which the team took its second annual pilgrimage
to the elite ABF Trials/Finals invitational meet in Boston and
qualified 15 year-old AJ Teixeira for four events at the
2018 YMCA National Championship meet in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Thirteen Lightning swimmers traveled to Webster, New York from
March 8th through March 11th to compete in the 2018 Niagara
District Championships meet. The Lightning finished 11th overall
out of 58 clubs, up six places from 17th in the 2017 meet.
Skaneateles was the highest-scoring club from the Central New York
region and placed second in the bid for Small Team High Point
Champion.

Justin Nowicki and Alice Spaulding were the
Lightning’s top individual scorers at the meet with 124 and
115 points, respectively.

Lightning Head Coach Seth Williams attributes the
team’s strong performance at Niagara Championships to his
swimmers’ dedication throughout the season. “Our young
athletes understand our workout and meet schedule and are using it
to their advantage. They now realize the individual sacrifices that
need to be made to become a strong team. It’s been a pleasure
to watch them grow,” Williams said.

A week after the team’s breakout performance at the
Niagara District Championships, 20 Lightning swimmers headed west
again to compete in the 2018 New York State YMCA Championships meet
held in Buffalo from March 16th through 18th. The Lightning
finished 11th out of 38 teams, up from 16th place in 2017.

Justin Nowicki with 56 points and Hana
Spaulding with 53 were the Lightning’s top individual
scorers at the YMCA State Championships meet. AJ
Teixeira broke a meet record in the 400 Individual Medley, a
non-scoring event, with a time of 4:11.06.

“Our swimmers built on the previous weekend and delivered
an outstanding performance at the YMCA State
Championships,” Coach Willams said. “Their
accomplishments are proof positive that the swimmers’
commitment to our tailor-made training regimen produces
results.”

Leading up to championship season, 16 Lightning swimmers
competed against some of New England’s top talent at the
elite ABF Trials/Finals meet at Boston University in early January.
Justin Nowicki and AJ Teixeira each won individual
events at the meet and 10 other Lightning swimmers scored top-10
finishes.

A month later, at the CNY YMCA District Championships meet in
early February, Teixeira broke a nearly 30-year-old meet
record in the 200 Individual Medley with a time of 1:59.55.
Lightning Head Coach Seth Williams previously set the
record as a 17-year-old in 1990.

Teixeira’s stand-out season will culminate with a
trip to the 2018 YMCA Short Course National Championship meet in
Greensboro, North Carolina from April 3rd to April 7th to compete
against some of the top age group swimmers in the U.S.
Teixeira qualified in four individual events: 400 Individual
Medley, 200 Individual Medley, 200 Breaststroke and 100
Breaststroke.

Coach Williams anticipates qualifying more of his
swimmers for YMCA Nationals in the 2018-2019 season. “AJ will
be traveling to North Carolina with some of his teammates next
year,” Williams said. “These young athletes
are working out 15-16 hours a week and some of them have yet to
miss a practice this season. Their hard work will continue to pay
off as these swimmers are becoming relevant not just regionally but
also nationally.”

Williams said the Lightning Parents Committee has approved
a winter training trip at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in
Colorado Springs for the team’s senior swimmers in 2019.